Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners CD player advise needed

Hey Guy's ,
Here's the deal , my cd changer is on it's last legs and it's time for a change but l'm not quite sure which road to take , l have had my changer for the last 10 years and l have been going back a forth between getting another changer or a single cdp (check my profile for my setup) the changers on my shortlist are the two Denon Changers the Harmon Kardon changer and the Rotel Rcc1055 changer which is quite a bit more money than both Hk and Denon , of the three the Denon 280 is the only one l will be able to demo the others have to be brought in. As far as single cdp's go l have demoe'd the Rotel RCD-o2 and was told by the salesperson that the 1055 sounded similar but they don't stock it but can get it , not sure if it's worth the 899.99CAN asking price.
Also another shop in town has the NAD C521, not the 521i either , l can get this player for 350.00 taxes in , and l realize there has been 2 successors to this player but was wondering if this was a fair deal or not, keep in mind that where l live not much is available to me and l do believe in dealing locally, so if l decided to go with another changer which one would you pick and of the two singles l know the Rotel 02 is newer but it is also twice the price @700.00 . What da ya think.

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated

Al

I like my Sony mega changer. Connected with the digital out there is no audible difference between it and my Denon DVD player (also digital connection). $300 US gets the 400 disc "almost universal" Sony mega changer.

If you're looking at NAD make sure you check Saturday Audio Exchange for the C541i. They have them for $299 and they're an authorized NAD dealer. I got my T762 from them and they're service is great. If you want to save some money, you can get the C521i for $199 (+ shipping).

Al, I second Mark(BigWill)in suggesting that you give strong consideration to a megachanger. After experiencing the convenience of the Sony and Technics units which I have, I'd never again consider putting up with the limitations of a single-disc player. None of these players have any audibly signicant differences in their reproduction.

Thanks for the suggestion Spock but i'm in Canada and with the exchange rates and duty this wouldn't be worthwile.

Al

Bigwill and JohnK, i have not looked into a jukebox player, how do these machines keep track of everything loaded into them, i'm trying to keep things as simple as possilbe although it would be convenient.

l had 2 players previous to my NAK, a Pioneer and a Sony and l was blown away at the difference the NAK made in my system , i could easily point out instrument positioning my top end improved, vocals were better, overall everything improved , not saying that the Sony's of today aren't good but the NAK (to my ears) bettered them back then.
i guess what i was really asking is if anyone had any experience with any of the players i had mentioned.

Thanks for the replys, i have been a member here for a while don't post much just lurk but i have to say i really enjoy this forum.
Cheers Al

I also like my sony and pioneer megachangers. I didn't notice any difference in sound from my NAD T571.

Al - I've got only great things to say about my H-K carousel (FL 8550) I've had it 4 years, bought it as a demo and it plays 12 hours a day on average - over 15,000 hours on it anyway - and so far the only maintenance it's needed is a general interior cleaning because it would spin past the next CD and then return (it should be said, I and others also used to smoke in the house - nasty American cigarettes).

Bren R.

BrenR, good to hear, the Hk 8385 that i'm looking at seems like a decent unit, the price isn't bad either.
Been off the smokes since the end of January, but man they sure are tempting when having a beer.

Al

You can either type cd titles in with a keyboard or use the dials and buttons to do the same thing. Kind of a chore.

The only other downside that I've experienced is that the mega changer remote has buttons that trigger functions no other devices have. That is, your universal remote will probably not be able to "learn" all of the functions the player is capable of. You'll want to keep the CD player's remote handy.

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BrenR, good to hear, the Hk 8385 that i'm looking at seems like a decent unit, the price isn't bad either.

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Like I say, I'm happy as anything with my H-K CDP, it's on all the time - I've hauled it out a lot with work (just thrown it in a pelican case and off it goes to work a night here or there). I'm not one to defend something just because I own it - for instance, I'd never buy another Toshiba DVD player- a brand name screws you once - shame on them, they screw you twice - shame on you.

Bren R.

I'm kinda the same as Bren, except I had an old Kenwood changer. Used the crap out of it, then I gave it to a friend. I think the new Denon changers are a great deal, and look decent. I remember a friend had an older HK changer, and one thing that bugged me was that some of the buttons were located at the bottom of the player, so when you had the tray open, it was hard to get to those buttons as it was underneath the tray. A little annoying. Just a thought.

The buttons below the tray are:
Time, Repeat, Intro, Clear, Program

Only ones I ever use are Time and Repeat.

Bren R.

"...a brand name screws you once - shame on them, they screw you twice - shame on you."

Shame on me - I bought a second Panasonic cordless phone after the first one went through batteries like sh*t through a goose. Second one (different model) did the same thing.

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Shame on me - I bought a second Panasonic cordless phone after the first one went through batteries like sh*t through a goose. Second one (different model) did the same thing.

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Stay away from cordless phones and other low-drain devices that use Ni-Cad batteries... Ni-Cads like to be slammed - drained fast, charged fast. Lith-Ions and the new Lith-paste batteries are a lot better in low drain devices, they exhibit less memory effect... NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) are also good but not as good as the Liths. And lead-acid, if you can take the weight are probably the most reliable - a lot of waist-packs for broadcast cameras are lead-acids, temperature doesn't affect them, they display very little, if any, memory and when the plates start getting corroded it's easy enough to clean them - just hook them up in serial to one pole of a higher voltage circuit and it'll burn off the crud.

Bren R.

Thanks Bren, I'll go see what kind of batteries are in the new phones I just bought.

Bren do you know of a good place to buy replacement batteries for phones in our area? I know my cordless has a Nickel-Cad battery in it and I wanted to find a Lithium-Ion if I could, to replace it. It is a Panasonic cordless (if that means anything).

G&S Battery or whatever it's called on McPhillips just south of the underpass (between Logan and the Casino) - place is a dive, but if Gord-o doesn't have it, they don't make it.

Bren R.

Beaut, thanks for the lead Bren, i'll check it out

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Thanks Bren, I'll go see what kind of batteries are in the new phones I just bought.

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Not that it's that big a deal - they'll last, just not as long. I've had a lot of experience with batteries, between RC car racing, cordless tools, cell phones, and now camera batteries so if anyone needs some advice on battery life and how to get the most out of them - let me know.

The problem with NiCds in low drain devices is the NiCds get used to a certain drain and charge pattern, cordless phones are the worst, they'll sit off the cradle for a few days barely trickling off the charge a few percent, then you'll use it to make a call, which puts a fair strain on it, then you'll throw it on the base and it'll begin a charge cycle with, say, 60% remaining in the charge, the battery starts believing that 60% is "empty" and only leaves you with the top 40% after a while.

Cordless tools are a lot easier to take care of, the rapid chargers get the batteries good and hot and if you use them a lot, the drain is steady and quick. To keep them in tip-top shape (my $80 Mastercraft 12V cordless driver/drill is still on the first set of two batteries while everyone else I know are on their 4th-6th Makita battery in the same timeframe) - use them as much as you have to, but never put them away for an extended period with a part charge, either run them out with the drill or build a cool little discharger out of 8-12 1157 bulbs hooked up in parallel and empty it completely (but don't let the bulbs go out if you build a discharger, take it off while they're still barely glowing or you might reverse the weakest cell in the pack) and recharge and store it that way.

Bren R.

ecost is an authorized Denon etailer and they sell refurb/B-stock. Many of the denizens on the site have gotten Denon equipment from them.

If you are still looking for a 5 disc changer, they just posted the Denon DVM-4800 for $329. I got one from them 11/03 and it is incredible. They discontinued the model a couple of months ago, and the MSRP was $1199. Street price ran around $900.

This thing is incredible. Huge amounts of Burr-Brown DACS for audio. Built like a tank (weighs 17 pounds). Here's the good part - it is ALSO a progressive scan DVD Player and the PQ is terrific. Nothing personal involved here - I just love the thing and wanted to let you know.

Thanks for the info Ray, but this player is for a 2channel only system and at the moment i'm bidding on a Denon DCM 380 B stock out of Ontario.

Al

That works. BTW, ecost also has the DCM-380 for $89.95 right now. No bidding involved AND you get a 90 day warranty.

I'll check again, i did an on site search and only came up with Onkyo.

Thanks once again
Al

Quick Update

Hey guy's, well thanks to Ray3 (for turning me on to ecost) I ordered a B Stock Denon DCM 380. I have owened Denon previously ( Integrated & AVR Receiver) so I''m looking forward to getting this machine. Once again thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread and I'll let ya know the outcome.

P.S. Ít's a sunny Saturday here and i'm out on the deck with basement windows opened, music cranked (somewhat) and havin' a beer.

Cheers
Al

Al, I am tickled that you were able to took advantage of the deal!!! Let us know how it works out.

well, at least you weren't tickled pink. I hate it when that happens.

Depends who's doing the tickling...

Ken, that was tickled pink, not tickling pink.

Nah, I'm too old to turn pink anymore. On the other hand, I am also still capable of being pickled.

I'm not too sure but I think my virgin eyes have been offended. Do you guys kiss your wives with that potty mouth?

mouth? It's all in the fingers, buddy. Aw, get your mouth out of the gutter -- FOR TYPING.

My bad-TWI.

Hey guy's i finally recieved it.

It came in yesterday, have it running right now, actually it's been on for a few hours now with no problems as of yet. I'm real happy with my purchase, as for the sound of it, there is little difference between it and my old NAK, but i do find the Denon to be smoother in the top end without any loss of detail.

A little story if you will... Since i saved what i consider a tidy sum of money going B stock , i got to thinking that maybe i could put together a little 2channel bedroom system for my soon to turn 12 young fella, without spending very much money, after all my NAK still works, not perfect but works. So while waiting for my Denon to arrive i went cyber shopping to see what i could come up with for what i will call a super budget system, here's what i got.

Sherwood 4103 open box for 120.00CAD, Ebay
Jensen C1 loudspeakers 85.00CAD, Radioshack
Quest 8",80 watt powered Sub 70.00, Ebay
Nakimichi mb4s cdp , 0.00 my old one

I hooked the Sherwood into my system and was pretty impressed for what i payed for it, i also tryed the sub when it arrived and i think it will do for what it is, i 'm waiting on the speakers should have them Tuesday. There isn't alot available for what i was looking to pay , but keep in mind this is a super budget system for a 12 year old, and thats basically how i got going in this hobby over 25 years ago, building a good system takes time and money and i think this will be a good starting point for him.

Cheers everyone
Al